Postings by Foxxy

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Foxxy Pocket Wolf     Barked: Sun May 19, '13 10:23pm PST  Let's go through my list of ones we've tried over the last 4 years. . . Avoderm grain free--My chis loved Avoderm and it is very affordable. Some owners may shy away from avocadoes in the food, but despite what some would like to tell you, avacadoes are not poisonous to dogs as long as they eat the flesh only, not the skin or the stone. California Naturals kangaroo--lower protein than most grain free at 22%. Very good exotic protein source. Kangaroo meat is better for the environment. I wasn't aware till I fed this that kangaroos don't release methane the way cows do. Castor and pollux natural ultramix indulgent recipe--higher protein and has chunks of dried fruits and veggies along with the kibble. easy to find in large box pet stores and at Whole Foods Castor and polux organix--didn't care for this because it has soy AND has anonymous meat sources (poultry meal, poultry fat rather than from a named bird) Evo ---stinky food both from the bag and on the other end too. poos so smelly we had to wait a moment to pick them up. P&G owned. Fromm 4-star--some of the best kibble to come out from a well respected company. has tiny kibbles which is good for tiny dogs Natural balance--Ok, so the kibble is ok, but I don't trust a company that puts pure sugar into any of their food lines the way they do with their chubs. nature's variety instinct raw--preferred over the kibble by far nature's variety instinct kibble--excellent kibble but not always as palatable as other varieties have been. It has a single source rabbit kibble that is very nice. Nature's recipe--owned by Del Monte, and adds menadione to their food. Would not recommend, one of the few grain frees that we are absolutely never touching again. northwest naturals frozen--awesome, awesome, awesome frozen raw had small sized chunks that make portioning easy and as far as frozen goes, its very affordable but it is very high fat Nutrisca--one of the first grain free foods that we tried. It is certified low glycemic index, a distinction that it shares with Merrick and only about one other food out there. This is a vital consideration in a dog with metabolic issues or recovering from pregnancy Orijen--had a terrible time with stinky poops from this Acana--there isn't a whole lot of difference between acana and orijen. Both very good, but also very strong smelling. Petcurean Now! Grain free--good food sourced from Canada, but not distinguished from most. their small breed grain inclusive was more interesting but only because of the kibble shape. Premium edge healthy weight reduction I--The first half of a 2 step weight reduction system is high protein and low fat, and no grains. The problem is it is 42% protein but adds soy. It's also made by diamond, which makes TOTW, so it fell into the recalls. Also only comes in chicken. Sojos complete (freeze dried raw)--lower protein than most grain free at 22%, but about the easiest way to do "raw" food. a 2# bag lasts 2 chihuahuas for a month Solid Gold Barking at the moon-- might as well be TOTW, doesn't distinguish itself from any other grain free that diamond puts out. Like TOTW they like to use anonymous fish sources. "Ocean fish" is not specific and there are lots of ocean fish that are similar to edible ones but are very bad! Like diarrhea and hallucinations bad. Taste of the wild--has anonymous meat sources in some varieties but has neat meat sources and is very affordable. Too many recalls for me That's it so far. All factors in, cost, nutrition, prep, pallatability, I would say Sojos has been our favorite followed by Fromm by a very wide margin to other brands. If you would have asked me 2 years ago I would have said TOTW, but while TOTW fits a LOT of budgets, their recent battles with mold and salmonella at their plants has made me a beet leery. On top of that, unnamed fish sources. blech. I was put off of Diamond products with the recalls, which would be TOTW, premium Edge, chicken soup, solid gold, Nature's recipe etc. Diamond makes a ton of grain free brands. nature's variety instinct raw and NW naturals are excellent but VERY expensive by comparison to fromm and sojos. Sojos gets my top pick because while it is only 22% protein, it is minimally processed compared to kibble, and far more accessible. It might look expensive with a 2# bag being $20, but you are not paying for water. It hydrates to about 10# of prepared food. that little 2# bag lasts as long as the 5# bags of kibble. It also does not have a large profile of chemical additives, relying on the natural vitamins and minerals in the food mix. It's not AAFCO certified, but it is actually complete despite that. I asked about it, and they said that AAFCO certification requires food trials that can be uncomfortable for the dog and that AAFCO only determines that a dog can survive the food, not that it is good for the dog. All I know is that my 2 have super shiny coats and a good ratio of fat to muscle while they were on it, and on kibble they went all the way up a whole pound for foxx and 2# for Tag and the only reason why we figured it out before they got fatter is Tag got a UTI while on Castor and Pollux organix (grain inclusive) because were trying our vet's theory that grain free food was a gimmick. It's not. Our forays into grain inclusive food have been less than stellar. We're talking more nighttime nausea and vomiting, more poo eating, more stinky breath, corn chip smelling feet, less pallateability, and the UTI and Tag's recent cherry eye only came up after 3 months on grain inclusive. We're right back on grain free after that mess and we're already having nicer urine and less swelling in that eye. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Foxxy Pocket Wolf     Barked: Thu May 16, '13 11:26am PST  Have you considered that your dog might have rage syndrome? Papillions are a spaniel breed and they do rarely turn up a pup with the issue It's unfortunately genetic but also very rare. The usual signs are these unprovoked attacks and age of dog between 1-3 years. You would have to talk with the breeder about lineage and problems my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Dog Health > Okay, incontinence. What now?

Foxxy Pocket Wolf     Barked: Sun May 12, '13 11:44pm PST  don't forget to keep her shaved back there! google "sanitary clip" to show how to do it. Hair around the area will trap moisture and you don't want a UTI on top of diaper rash! my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Dog Laws & Legislation > Changing dog "owner" to dog "gaurdian"

Foxxy Pocket Wolf     Barked: Sun May 12, '13 11:37pm PST  yeah no kidding. Being a guardian of something means that someone else owns the dog. . .who or what then, owns the dog? The state? The breeder? the shelter? The easiest solution is the best solution. Dogs must be property. They are forced by their function in society as companion animals to interact within human society even though they are not designed to comprehend all of the nuances of it. A dog's human companion is an advocate, advisor and protector of their dog. That's what an owner does. In other words, the person that spends all their time at minimal cost compared to what it would take for an organization to do it, with the dog knows it best, trains it, and protects it from harm and from it harming others within reason. You couldn't ask any bureaucratic entity to be able to deal with the amount of dogs there are on that very intimate level. It's stupid and it's nonsense, and it doesn't help the probably 80% of people that are doing right by their dogs and adequately fulfilling their physical and psychological needs. As for the whatever percentage of owners out there that are hoarders, mill breeders, fighters, or neglectful and abusive, the laws do need to move more quickly to protect the well being of living creatures. naming people as guardians rather than owners hurts the vast majority of very good owners, and doesn't change anything about the horribleness that is still going on. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Dog Health > Early Graying?

Foxxy Pocket Wolf     Barked: Fri Apr 26, '13 1:53am PST  yeah that's genetic and nothing to worry about. dogs at age 2 are the human equivalent of 25 or so and I know some humans that were starting to go gray as early as 18. a little gray on the muzzle is distinguishing. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Foxxy Pocket Wolf     Barked: Thu Apr 25, '13 1:13pm PST  sometimes people have to learn the hard way. We all have our "first dog" experiences. No matter how well an experienced dog owner can prepare a new owner for a dog, problems will occur. Unfortunately, people think that dog husbandry is some sort of instinct, but it's not. It's a learned practice that has only improved as we understand the species better through science and logical observation. I have my horror stories. You, if you remember the first dog you owned, probably have horror stories. I could tell you how we learned that not even locked behind three layers of plastic, a trash can and a ziploc bag is a rotten cooked turkey leg safe from the questing nose of a chihuahua. We learned that when you are potty training the dog no matter if you spend the entire day with the dogs under your watchful eye, they will take the second of time it takes to use the toilet for them to go behind the couch and pee. We learned that they can chew through a step in harness in the time it takes to nap. Foxxy uses a gentle leader. I find that those are even safer than a harness, but would you be willing to shell out $25 for one if you were just starting out? I find that with new pet parents, they still value low cost over better quality, and it takes a couple years for them to figure out that some corners can't be cut. The $25 gentle leader versus the $12 harness or the $1 collar from the dollar tree. Cheap food made from ag waste for $1 a can versus the conscientious ingredients in the $5 a can foods, or homecooked, or raw. Risky Dog treats for $1 from chinese sources versus $7 treats from vetted US sources. Tennis balls that are for tennis with dyes that contain lead versus tennis balls made for dogs that have little squeakers in them and no toxic dyes. It's a learning process It doesn't mean that they shouldn't own dogs, it just means that they need to anticipate and prevent better, and that only comes through a lot of exposure and experience. "If I leave the garbage chores until tomorrow, what are the chances my dog will get up in the night for some foraging behavior" the answer to this is yes 99% of the time. "If I leave my dog's collar on in the kennel, can it get in a distressing situation? If so, am I using the collar correctly?"--on this point even experienced owners get it wrong. The collar is to be worn snugly high up on the neck, right behind the head and at the base of the ears. If the dog can get his jaw under the collar it wasn't being worn right. "How much is a cup of food" the answer is 8 ounces of wet food or a kitchen measuring cup for dry. a cup of food is not a big gulp from the 7-11. what is appropriate shelter for outdoors? how long can I leave them? how often do they need to pee? all these questions can be answered but still need to be figured out with the dog they have chosen to live with. It's not that they shouldn't have dogs. Just show them how to anticipate a dog's behavior the same way that they would anticipate a toddler's behavior. That's what I tell people. Look at a dog the way you would look at a perpetual 2 year old. If it hangs, they will tug it, if it stinks, they will eat it or roll in it, if it's on them, they will try to take it off. Just like with kids, dogs need to learn to avoid following their natural inclinations. That's training for the owner as much as for the dog. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Dog Health > Puppy has round lump on hip? Tumor or vaccine reaction?

Foxxy Pocket Wolf     Barked: Sun Apr 21, '13 1:26am PST  You need to inform your vet. ask your vet about giving the dog benadryl to reduce that reaction and request that your dog never get a 5 in 1 combo again. That's a reaction to the rabies part of the combo. There is really no reason for a 5 in 1 Foxxy has a bad reaction like that to the rabies shot. We have to give her a shot for her rabies on a separate visit 2 weeks apart from all her others. The vet recomends giving her a benadryl a couple hours prior to the vet visit otherwise she gets a benadryl shot and those are intramuscular so they are painful for the dog. Foxxy tolerates the parvo/distemper/hepatitis annual shot very well. We don't usually get the one with lepto or parainfluenza. We don't get bortatella either. The last time we got that was when we first adopted taggert from the pound and both dogs got the internasal as a precaution, both were sneezing and honking and miserable for a week. fortunately we can go 3 years between rabies or we would have a very miserable dog. Always ask your vet where they injected, or be in the room with your dog so that you know where to watch for a reaction.. My vet puts it in between the shoulder blades, but intermusculars like benadryl or penicillin get put in the back leg. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Food & Nutrition > I'm new need some advice

Foxxy Pocket Wolf     Barked: Tue Apr 9, '13 3:20pm PST  Fromm 4 star is excellent food. With dog food the way to figure it out is to dig into this forum or dogfoodadvisor.com and then just go looking around in your area. basically, there are criteria for what is considered a "good" food: free of dyes--dogs don't care about colors. dyes have a multitude of side effects and are literally there for the sole purpose of selling the food to humans. even ones that say "natural colorings" are not good. red, for example, can come from carmine beetles or from iron oxide (rust). free of bht/bha--a cancer causing preservative found in low quality meat sources that has been banned in human food free of menadione--a synthetic vitamin d (d3) banned in human food, known to cause liver trouble free of dubious "flavor" ingredients like "chicken flavor"--an anonymous ingredient on certain foods that actually could come from anything. Similar to how "raspberry flavor" comes from castoreum, the excretions from a beaver's anal glands, ingredients that say "(random meat or vegetable) flavor" may actually not come from that animal or plant at all, they are simply engineered by a chemist to taste like the animal listed. Think about it: how many things in this world do people say "tastes like chicken" about? Could be anything. free of anonymous meat and fat sources--"beef meal" "chicken fat" "menhaden fish meal" or "salmon oil" as opposed to "meat meal" "poultry fat" "fish meal" or "fish oil" free of animal digests free of by-product meals and "meat and bone meal", even from named sources free of low quality fillers--these are dregs and sweepings and mostly industrial waste used to bulk up a food, but you'll see the ingredients listed as: Wheat mill run, wheat middlings, or brewer's rice free of sugar as an added ingredient. everything has sugars in it, but sugar, specifically, or corn syrup is bad. Molasses as long as it's down at the bottom of the list is a prebiotic, and sometimes it's ok, but refined sugar is as bad for them as it is for us. Sugar is used in dog food for palatability, and also to make chewy bits in dry dog food. For example, the bits part of kibbles and bits has sugar in it to keep the bits moist even though it's a dry food. free of propylene glycol free of corn--grown yellow corn, or corn meal. Like humans dogs can't get the nutritional benefit of corn unless it's mixtalized, that is, made into hominy. Unless it says hominy meal, corn is just another starchy filler. Companies that sell animal feed ingredients actually have a substance called "ground hominy" that is sold and listed different from ground corn. containing chelated minerals--chelated minerals are minerals bound with a protein and are easily absorbed by the body. look for ingredients like (mineral) proteinate or (mineral) chelate. controversially, some people would also like to omit soybeans because they are not as easily processed by a dog's body, and are just a low cost protein booster. Ingredients sourced in the first world and food manufactured in the first world, preferably within the country you live in. Look for ingredients and brands coming from countries that have high standards like the US, UK, austrailia, france, Canada and such. Or pick a local food from a company with a factory within 500 miles of your home. That's about the minimum to look for as you browse the aisles without getting into protein content, grain inclusion and brand names or conglomerate affiliation. There's so much to choose from out there, and some food is only locally produced. You, as the consumer, have to get out to places that have dog food and compare foods. Once you've found about 10 brands that you like, then the debate really starts. Otherwise it's tough to begin. Fromm is a good food to start with, I would compare the ingredients in from to other brands that you see out there. The ones to consider will have similar profiles to fromm my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Food & Nutrition > Alternatives To Acana.

Foxxy Pocket Wolf     Barked: Tue Apr 9, '13 1:27pm PST  Castor & pollux natural ultramix indulgent recipe Nature's variety Instinct Raw boost both are above 35% protein my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Foxxy Pocket Wolf     Barked: Tue Apr 2, '13 5:34pm PST  foxxy's spring haircut this is foxxy's spring cut. we just did it last week before we went to the vet's my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

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